Piba: I think you sit down and you process. It's very hard to make sense of all this information that you're getting about you. So i'm going to ask my support team, my allies, manages i might have had in the past. And those things that i'mgoing to dare to do, some new things i'll try. Piba: Part of my resources might be taking a course. Part of myresources might be doing a podcast or reading a book.
Hearing your manager say you’re doing a great job is, of course, lovely. But without examples of your greatness in action, or suggestions for how to be even better, you don’t have the information you need to keep improving. Studies have found that women tend to get feedback that’s vague or tied to their personalities, which doesn’t boost our performance ratings. Meanwhile, men get feedback that’s specific and tied to business outcomes, which sets them up to develop and be promoted.
First, we talk with Harvard Business School professor Robin Ely about the research on women and feedback. Next, we talk with Tuck School of Business professor Ella Bell Smith about how to draw out actionable, useful feedback from our managers, and how to respond when we’re not getting what we need to succeed.
Our HBR reading list:
“What Most People Get Wrong About Men and Women,” by Catherine H. Tinsley and Robin J. Ely
“The Gender Gap in Feedback and Self-Perception,” by Margarita Mayo
“How Gender Bias Corrupts Performance Reviews, and What to Do About It,” by Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio
“Research: Vague Feedback Is Holding Women Back,” by Shelley Correll and Caroline Simard
Get the discussion guide for this episode on our website: hbr.org/podcasts/women-at-work
Email us: womenatwork@hbr.org
Our theme music is Matt Hill’s “City In Motion,” provided by Audio Network.